Did someone set up Triple H to fail?

Triple H is among the most iconic and respected Superstars in the history of WWE, and his 13 World Title reigns cement him as one of the most prolific competitors of all time. In spite of his past accomplishments, his current role as Chief Operating Officer of WWE has yielded him far less success – quite the contrary, in fact.

As evidenced by a virtually unanimous vote of “no confidence” in The Game’s leadership on Monday’s WWE Raw SuperShow, not even the battle-tested Raw Superstars and Divas are willing to tolerate the caustic environment The King of Kings has created. Yet, the responsibility for the current state of WWE might not rest on Triple H’s massive shoulders after all, but rather on a clandestine saboteur orchestrating his downfall.

Since the WWE Board of Directors chose The Cerebral Assassin to handle day-to-day operations of WWE back in July, the company has gone into a tailspin from which it might never recover. From former Superstars The Miz and R-Truth’s brutal actions at both Night of Champions and WWE Hell in a Cell to The Game’s apparent inability to separate his personal and professional lives in his recent confrontations with CM Punk, some might assume that The Game is simply unfit to lead and that he isn’t cut out for the corporate world. But based on his longstanding history bucking authority as one of the founding members of D-Generation X, who in their right mind would appoint the self-proclaimed “degenerate” as an executive in the first place unless they were setting him up to fail? (MORE ON TRIPLE H’S TRACK RECORD)

Although Triple H emerged in WWE as a well-heeled braggart from posh Greenwich, Conn., his true nature was revealed to the WWE Universe when he partnered with Shawn Michaels in 1997 to form DX, inarguably the most lewd, disrespectful and anti-establishment faction in WWE’s history. With each crotch-chop, crude innuendo and property damaging prank (including, but not limited to, painting the “DX” logo on WWE’s corporate headquarters and vandalizing the company’s private jet), Triple H has dedicated himself to raising the eyebrows and the blood pressures of everyone in the front office, including, surely, those currently sitting on the Board of Directors.

Echoing Punk’s earlier assessment of Triple H’s predicament, Jerry “The King” Lawler told The Game to his face on Monday night that “there’s somebody behind the scenes, pulling the strings [and] trying to sabotage your job as COO.” Judging by his uneasy relationship with The Game, a prime suspect for such corporate subterfuge would be Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis, who continues to deny culpability when pressed for answers by WWE.com. However, the plot Lawler is alluding to likely runs far deeper.

Flabbergasted by The Game’s continuous luster in the eyes of the WWE Universe (despite his contentious relationship with the company), someone in a position of power might have nominated Triple H to become COO in an act of retaliation against The King of Kings. Moreover, they could possibly be targeting the entire McMahon clan, especially given the recent fall of Vince McMahon himself. After all, if an insubordinate employee like Triple H spent his career giving you headaches only to eventually marry into the family business, wouldn’t you be bitter too?